Republicans more optimistic on farm bill

House Republicans were more upbeat Thursday on getting a farm bill done this year, with Speaker John Boehner raising the subject and Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas saying he and his Senate counterparts are “getting to a common point on the commodity title.”

“I can say that all the face-to-face meetings that have gone on with the principals — in the last couple of weeks — have made progress,” Lucas told POLITICO. “We are getting to a common point on the commodity title.”

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“There are still some big principles: choice vs. all inclusive, how you calculate the acres. But we are moving and staff on a variety of fronts are ironing out the differences.”

Talks between the Oklahoma Republican and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) are expected to continue late Thursday. And at his weekly news conference Thursday morning, Boehner included the farm bill as part of his year-end agenda.

“There are issues that can be resolved before the end of the year, including reforms to our farm programs, a bill to reauthorize important water projects around the country and hopefully a budget agreement so that we can stop lurching from one crisis to another,” the speaker told reporters. “We have got a chance to find common ground, and I am hopeful that we can make progress on all of these issues.”